m


 Although concurrent engineering seems
to span the entire life-cycle of a product according
to the preceding definition,its traditional focus has
been on design, manufacturing, and maintenance.
erhaps one of the most striking areas
where companies now have to be concerned is
with the environment.
! j

 For example, the  Clean Air Act has
limited the use of a number of materialsand
(European) take-back legislation is driving Design for
ecycling efforts.
! · J   
 Awareness of environmental
issues is increasing among customers. ome
customers will even pay more for a product if it is
green. Also, industrial customers (e.g., riginal
Equipment Manufacturers) do not want (future)
environmental liability for a supplier¶s product.
· Eco-Labeling programs How ³green´ is a product?
Having an eco-label becomes a
competitive advantage.

· I 14000 The I 14000 (environmental

management standards) certification may
become a crucial element in doing business, like I
9000 (quality management standards).
! 1. What are the organizational motivation and
targets for integrating environmental issues?
! . What are the (current) organization capabilities
and state?
! 3. What new practices, tools, and organizational
structures are needed?
! 4. What is the best way of implementing the
necessary changes?
! 5. What are mechanisms for continuous
assessment, feedback, and improvement?
! · A number of approaches for reducing the
environmental impact are discussed in order toprovide
a view of the current technology base.
! · A number of organizational issues are highlighted to
illustrate issues to be considered when identifying an
organization¶s capabilities and state.
! ·
eneral characteristics, representative examples,
and integration and information management issues of
design tools supporting environmentally conscious
product design are discussed.
! The general goal of environmentally conscious
approaches to product design is the reduction of
the negative environmental impact of a product
throughout its life cycle.
! · those which are applied —
   
 

    
     stages,
! · those that focus on a 


 
   
     
 
! · those that go á    
 
   
! 6
 

  
   
! · 3 
 
  á  
 
! · x á
 á  
 á 

! · §     á 
  
—
 á  

! · á 
 
—   á     

   

! · r 
      

 
 
—

  

 

! measure, indicate, or predict;
! · Má
  
   
 
  
   

 

! · x  
 
  § 
  
   
  
! support tools should foster insight and assist in predicting process and product
¦  
6 

  
(e.g., ³reduce the number of materials used to
facilitate more efficient recycling´) , (e.g., ³reduce
the use of non-renewable energy sources´)

   ¦  
 

A variety of metrics have been proposed to allow
comparison of designs, with most being based on
some variant oflife-cycle assessment (LCA).
¦   


Tools for decision support and trade-off analyses
are less well established
.
Decision support tools for industrial ecology will
have to allow for the modeling and stimulation of
material input and output flows between various
companies in order to assess the overall
environmental impact of industrial ecosystems and the
exploration of different scenarios for the formation and
working of industrial ecosystem.
! 
  

¦  
  

 


A number of issues with respect to integrating
industrial ecology are listed in (ichards, et al., 1994)., an
eco-designapproach and supporting tools focused on the
design practice of small and medium sized
companies is documented. Clearly, one should always
consider the following
· Who is supposed to use the tools, i.e., who is the audience?
· Why would they use them, i.e., what is their incentive?
! x¦  xx

 xx 
x
!!"#x$%x
Technology cannot solve all problems.
erhaps the most important issue in moving
towardsintegrating environmental issues in
product design is education.
rapid development of the internet has opened
new and faster avenues for information
dissemination.
!
x
a number of options and issues that companies and
organizations should consider when pursuing integration of
environmental issues in product des
! · n the positive side, large  companies with global
markets are closely paying attention toprogressive
European (and other) initiatives and legislation. In
particular, the car companies
(
M, Ford,)the electronic companies (e.g., those organized
in theMicroelectronics and Computer Technology
Corporation - MCC), and large world-widechemical
companies and material suppliers (e.g., those organized in
the American lasticCouncil) are active and even
extremely pro-active in some cases. ign and realization.
· n the negative side, small to medium size companies with domestic
markets worry often only
about satisfying local, state, and federal (EA) regulations (if at all). Many
small companies
and/or mall Quantity
enerators (i.e., those with less than a 1000
kilograms of hazardous waste per month) have no clue about pollution
prevention, let alone about DFE, industrial
ecology, or even sustainable development.
Many corporations, designers,and engineers agree that the
issue is not —
 
  á     
 responsiblein
product design and realization, but —  —